Winding roads…

Wouldn’t it be nice if the road of life was one big open highway? Just a long, straight expanse of new pavement as far as the eye could see. No twists, no turns, no detours. Approaching traffic or bumps in the road could be seen with plenty of time to react and adjust. I sometimes catch myself planning things in life as if this were the case. Feeling like I’m on the safe, dependable highway, with my eyes and mindset fixed far off on the horizon. But how often do things play out quite that smoothly? It seems a bit more realistic to visualize the road of life as more of a winding path through the woods. At times it can be beautiful and serene, but there are usually some curves and often you don’t really know what is coming next. I have noticed this gets tricky when my frame of mind is set for that open highway. It makes it tougher to deal with change. When I’m living too far ahead on that horizon in the future, the reality of the twisting road gets tough to handle. I become more rigid, less able to move with the road.

For this week, when you take time to come to your yoga mat and practice, think about flexibility. Think about breathing and being present in the moment. Try to let go of expectations within your yoga practice. If you are practicing in a group setting with a teacher, try not to anticipate what is coming next. Practice going with the flow. If you are practicing on your own, try to let go of the expectations of your abilities within the various postures. Be present in the moment, feel the pose. Don’t worry about how the same pose went for you yesterday or even what your goal is for that pose in the future. Try to listen to your body, breathe, and be present. In this way we can adapt and roll with the punches on our mat and maybe that can be a take-away message for our day-to-day lives as well…